Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Director Rainer Rettig Purchases 4,000 Shares

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) Director Rainer Rettig acquired 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $6.10 per share, with a total value of $24,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 46,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,424.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Rainer Rettig also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, September 9th, Rainer Rettig purchased 5,000 shares of Mercer International stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.24 per share, with a total value of $31,200.00.

Mercer International Price Performance

Mercer International stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $6.13. 701,677 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 277,760. The stock has a market cap of $409.91 million, a P/E ratio of -1.79 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $7.02 and its 200-day moving average is $8.69. The company has a quick ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.22. Mercer International Inc. has a 12 month low of $5.33 and a 12 month high of $11.20.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The basic materials company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by ($0.08). Mercer International had a negative net margin of 9.90% and a negative return on equity of 17.93%. The firm had revenue of $499.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $482.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.48) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mercer International Inc. will post -1.15 EPS for the current year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 25th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 25th. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio is -8.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MERC. CIBC lowered their target price on shares of Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.38.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MERC. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the first quarter valued at $261,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Mercer International in the 1st quarter valued at about $193,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Mercer International by 26.5% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 10,713 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Mercer International Company Profile

Mercer International Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) and northern bleached hardwood kraft (NBHK) pulp worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Pulp and Solid Wood. It manufactures, sells, and distributes pulp, electricity, and chemicals through pulp mills.